Sam Sampson stood at the podium at Medina Civic Center to remind those gathered for the annual Lions Club Memorial Day service that he is proud to be a veteran, particularly on Memorial Day.

"I'm a veteran and I'm proud to be a veteran," he said, shaking hands with other veterans as they passed by. "If it wasn't for the veterans, this country could very easily be speaking German, Japanese, Iraqi."

Sampson still remembers when he changed units with the United States Marine Corps. He remembers the 67 men with whom he deployed.

He remembers the 65 who did not come home with him.

"When I got ready to come home, out of that 67, there were two still there," Sampson said. "The rest of them had either been wounded or killed."

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Wreaths were placed on the memorial markers outside the Medina Civic Center for Memorial Day on Monday during a Memorial Day service.(Photo: MARANDA FARIS/The Jackson Sun)

As he gave a speech in front of the three markers honoring Medina area veterans who died in combat, Sampson said Memorial Day was to remember the veterans who did not return from war.

"It gives me a time to reflect back on them," he said. "My number two son is named after a very good friend of mine who got killed back in Vietnam."

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The color guards of the VFW and Boy Scout troop 48 stand together for photos after the Lions Club Memorial Day service.(Photo: MARANDA FARIS/The Jackson Sun)

For Sampson, the presence of Boy Scout troop 48, which dropped the flag to half staff during the service, proved youth are still involved in supporting military service.

"Any time that you can get young people involved in anything to appreciate America, it's better for them," he said. "Hopefully, they'll take something from what was said to them."

The Memorial Day service had an impact on Boy Scout Brent Werner..

"It's a good way to honor fallen veterans," Werner said.

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Members of Boy Scout Troop 48 lower the flag to half staff at Medina Civic Center on Monday, May 25, 2015 during the annual Lion’s Club Memorial Day service.(Photo: MARANDA FARIS/The Jackson Sun)

The service has been part of the Medina Lions Club's Memorial Day ceremony since 1991.

"We just wanted to honor the fallen veterans," Lions Club member Rodeny Allen said. "Nothing had ever been done before to honor them."

Lions Club members said when the service began, more than half the members were veterans of various wars, including Vietnam.